Regarding the young celestial master's words, Flandre felt that this blame couldn't be pinned on her head.
After all, basic information theory was the absolute foundation of understanding Arts. Just like advanced calculus for a mathematics major—if you fail introductory calculus as a math student and then claim you actually understand higher mathematics, would anyone in their right mind believe you?
Although these students were forced to take surprise exams because of her published lecture, she wasn't the one who had instituted the new curriculum standards at the academy. The exam content covered purely fundamental principles; it was just that the timing of the test came a bit abruptly. But wasn't this precisely the perfect chance for the faculty to check whether these students had laid a solid foundation?
In Flandre's view, failing a basic course simply proved that they hadn't learned the material properly in the first place. Forcing them to retake the course was being responsible toward their future careers and the reputation of the Celestial Master Academy.
"Failing even basic originium and sorcery theory... I think retaking the exam was well-deserved!"
Flandre's crisp, unyielding response left the young celestial master momentarily stunned. She had originally assumed that upon hearing about the students' collective misery, the small girl would offer a polite apology or express some sympathy. She certainly hadn't expected Flandre to be even tougher and more uncompromising than she had imagined.
"What you said... actually makes a lot of sense!"
The celestial master burst into a clear, bright laugh before offering a polite bow. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Bai Suzhen, an agricultural celestial master from the Celestial Master Academy."
"Pfft—!" x2
The second the name left her lips, both Flandre and Hong Meiling nearly sprained their waists, staggering in unison as their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"Hmm? Is there some kind of problem with my name?"
Noticing their dramatic, absurd reaction, Celestial Master Bai furrowed her slim brows slightly, looking back and forth between the two in confusion.
"N-No, no, no! Absolutely not!" Flandre and Hong Meiling exchanged a terrified glance before waving their hands frantically in mid-air.
Seeing the skeptical, narrowing look in Bai's eyes, Flandre quickly spoke up to steer the conversation away from danger.
"Celestial Master Bai... what is your exact relationship with the Bluethunder Count, Bai Dingshan?"
Hearing Flandre's question, Bai Suzhen wore an expression that said she had fully anticipated this line of inquiry.
"The Bluethunder Count can be considered my paternal uncle, but I've never been interested in loud thunder magic, so I chose not to take the path of lightning."
"Then what are you good at?" Flandre asked, her crimson eyes twinkling with genuine curiosity.
"Growing flowers and tending soil! Uh, you mean combat Arts? As for me, I know a fair bit of basic Five Elements manipulation. If I have to say what my most proficient and powerful spell is... it would probably be summoning rain clouds and bringing down rainfall!"
After Bai finished speaking, Flandre and Hong Meiling looked at each other again, their expressions identical—it matched! It all matched!
"Um, I just want to ask... are you a Phidia? And do you happen to have a younger sister named Xiaoqing?" Hong Meiling couldn't hold back her overwhelming curiosity, leaning forward to ask.
"Ah?"
Bai Suzhen blinked her dark eyes, thoroughly bewildered. "I am indeed a Phidia, but I don't have a younger sister!"
Although she had no idea why these two were asking such baffling, hyper-specific questions, based on the principle that since they were her corporate boss's personal guests and weren't prying into classified secrets, there was no harm in answering honestly.
"What about a paternal or maternal female cousin then?" Meiling pressed on, refusing to give up.
"Neither... What on earth are you two trying to ask?" Bai always felt these two were implying something deep and legendary, yet completely beyond her grasp.
"N-No, no, no! It's nothing at all!" The two waved their hands again in perfect synchronization.
(Fumina: I have no clue what they are referring to...)
Flandre quickly pointed at the severed plum branches resting near the edge of the path. "Anyway! Those branches were intercepted by us from those vandalizing tourists."
"I heard you're the master in charge of the estate and the leading expert in this field," Flandre continued. "We hope you can assess the physical damage for the record, so that the Lungmen Guard Department can evaluate the legal charges for those four."
Originally still puzzled by Flandre and Meiling's strange behavior, Bai's professional focus was pulled right back by Flandre's words. She walked over to the severed branches, picking them up with a heart-wrenching, pained expression.
Seeing the raw, fresh tear at the cross-section of the wood, the fiery anger in her eyes flared up once more. She turned her head to glance at the four handcuffed tourists sitting on the curb under the guard of the LGD Operator.
"I am the chief specialist in charge of this garden. If I step forward to issue the official damage appraisal myself, their legal defense team could easily deny the validity of the report, claiming I am a biased, interested party," Bai explained calmly, her voice taking on a sharp, professional edge.
"However, the wintersweet trees in this northern garden were all transplanted at immense corporate expense from famous historical arboretums across Yan," she continued. "To protect these assets, the Swire Family insured each and mealing-tended wintersweet tree for hundreds of thousands of LMD. Within those policies, there are extremely detailed clauses regarding physical damage and branch breakage."
"In a few moments, I will call the underwriting insurance company. They will send an independent claims adjuster to inspect the trees. As an impartial third-party institution, the formal appraisal issued by their assessors is something those vandals will never be able to deny in court."
Speaking of this, Celestial Master Bai let out a cold, triumphant snort. Gathering the heavy branches into her arms, she turned and walked into the deep pathways of the Plum Garden to locate the specific trees that had been stripped.
"Shall we join in the fun?" Hong Meiling looked down at Flandre and Koishi.
The two little ones nodded enthusiastically—not joining in the fun when a great spectacle was unfolding would make them absolute fools! Besides, they had come out today specifically to pass the time. This kind of real-time drama was both entertaining and made the afternoon fly by; not following along to see the final verdict would be a complete waste of the effort they had put into stopping the thieves in the first place.
Thus, the trio strolled along behind Bai as she navigated the grove.
Using specialized agricultural Arts, Bai identified the damaged trunks surprisingly fast. It was only when they approached the target tree that Flandre noticed a subtle metal plaque hanging from a low-hanging branch.
Stepping closer to inspect it, Flandre saw that the plaque recorded the historical origin and age of the specimen. It clearly stated that the tree had been originally planted in the famous Jiang Qi Plum Villa in the 777th year of the Great Yan calendar.
Flandre did a quick mental calculation, and her eyes widened slightly—those four vandals were in for a world of financial ruin. This specific wintersweet tree was an ancient specimen over three hundred years old! To purchase and safely transport such an ancient, living artifact out to Flower Village, Sister Beatrice must have spent a terrifying sum of money.
Bai Suzhen reached out, her fingers gently touching the metal tag as a sweet, almost terrifying smile spread across her face.
"I remember this specific tree very well. The Swire Family spent over one million LMD just to purchase it from Jiang Qi Plum Villa. When you factor in the heavy transport logistics, specialized soil preservation, and custom Arts preservation, the total cost approached two million LMD."
"It is also one of the prime specimens that requires my daily, specialized care," Bai added, her voice dropping into a dangerously pleasant tone. "In this entire Plum Garden, there are only seven wintersweet trees valued at over a million LMD, each positioned in distinct, secluded locations. For those four to accurately single out this specific tree and snap its prize branches... they really know how to pick 'em."
Hearing her breakdown, Hong Meiling asked in genuine curiosity: "But even so, snapping off a couple of side branches shouldn't have a lethal impact on the tree's health, right? Can the Swire Family really use this to claim a astronomical amount of compensation from those people?"
"Of course they can," Bai answered crisply. "Because one of the primary clauses in the insurance contract covers the structural and aesthetic integrity of the specimen as a whole."
She gestured to the sprawling canopy above. "You must understand, a tree three centuries old represents a piece of land that hasn't suffered a major catastrophe or natural disaster for hundreds of years. In Great Yan culture, such an ancient tree is considered a living symbol of profound luck and stability. They snapped its flowering limbs—to put it lightly, it's damaging private property; to put it strictly, they damaged the historical and cultural fortune embodied by this tree. If the Swire Family chooses to pursue full legal compensation, the court fines alone will bankrupt every single one of them."
Bai crossed her arms, nodding to herself.
"Though... they do technically have one legal avenue to argue for reduced liability," Flandre noted thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand. "After all, the number of security patrols in this outer garden is clearly insufficient, which gave them the unmonitored opportunity to snap the branches in the first place."
Flandre's casual observation instantly solidified Bai's earlier decision: the moment this legal mess was settled, she was going to write that urgent letter to her academy mentor. She was going to make sure she secured several top junior students for long-term internships immediately! Otherwise, managing four massive seasonal estates spanning the cardinal directions of the town entirely on her own was genuinely beyond her physical capabilities.
"Speaking of which, I truly must thank the three of you for stepping in today," Bai said, turning back to offer them a warm smile. "If those branches had been stolen and I only discovered the damage hours later, the boss would have definitely docked my monthly bonus!"